American Thinker has published my essay, “The Protocols of the Elders of Christendom?” In it I defend the “Christian right” from the charge of being “Dominionists” or “Theocrats,” and (I hope) introduce into the mainstream Eric Heubeck’s 2001 essay, “The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement.” It was in this essay that I first encountered the idea that conservatism needs to fight to regain the culture by forming an elite to spearhead a new traditionalism.

I see AT’s publication of my piece as a hopeful development, because it argues that the left has largely taken over our society, a message that mainstream conservatives have generally resisted. Here’s how I deliver this set of goods:

Many resist the conclusion that most Americans are content with the liberal status quo. True, John Q. Public often opposes the latest leftist initiatives. But it is change he opposes. He agrees with the basic premises of the left that have become conventional wisdom: America is secular and multicultural; all people are equal, therefore all discrimination is wrong; science defines reality, and religion is opinion rather than truth; government must fix all our problems; the individual and his desires are not constrained by God, country, or family; and so on. Liberalism won these battles long ago in the sense that these beliefs have long been widely accepted by America’s authorities, and those who disagree are opposing a semi-official orthodoxy. This is why leftists portray their conservative opponents as “radical” or “out of step with America.” True conservatives are indeed “out of step” with conventional—i.e., liberal—thinking.

The left is in the driver’s seat, and there is therefore one irrefutable argument against the view that a secret cabal of Christian fundamentalists is taking over the country: Conservatism continues to lose. There may very well be secret or semi-secret conservative organizations dedicated to wresting control of the country from the left, but if so, these organizations are failing spectacularly. On average, with exceptions noted, the left is expanding its control over America’s intellectual, moral, social, spiritual, and legal order. That the left is winning does not necessarily mean that conservatism can never come back, but we must acknowledge the current situation.